Sea Cucumbers (Holothuroidea)

This Report's Topic in Depth explores the world of sea cucumbers, or Holothuroidea, a diverse group of intriguing marine animals. The first site (1), from the Tree of Life Web Project, provides nice clear images of sea cucumbers and brief concise sections on Characteristics, The Orders of Holothuroidea, Fossil History, and Discussion of Phylogenetic Relationships. The second site (2), from the Charles Darwin Research Station, displays short answers to commonly asked questions about sea cucumbers like: What is their importance within the marine communities?; How do sea cucumbers reproduce?; and What is the potential environment impact of overexploiting sea cucumber populations? From Enchanted Learning, the third site (3) features a diagrammed print-out of a s ea cucumber along with short descriptions of Holothuroidea anatomy, diet, classification, and predators. Hosted by the Royal BC Museum, the fourth site (4) contains a brief research paper by curator Philip Lambert on taxonomy issues concerning sea cucumbers. The fifth site (5), developed by Richard Fox of Lander University, contains detailed instructions for a laboratory exercise with Sclerodactyla briareus, a species of sea cucumber. From MoonDragon's Health & Wellness website, the sixth site (6) contains a sea cucumber recipe and briefly discusses sea cucumber cuisine and health benefits. Hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the seventh site (7) provides information about an international conference titled: Conservation of s ea cucumbers in Malaysia, their Taxonomy, Ecology and Trade. The site contains concluding remarks, abstracts from papers presented at the conference, and a list of email contacts for conference participants. The final (8) site from the Environmental News Network'features a short article about an Ecuadorian court upholding sea cucumber fishing limits in the Galapagos islands.